Zibo Tile Fish, mostly choose carp, chop it into large pieces and fry it in oil pan. It is named because it looks like a tile. It is a specialty of Zibo. I also make it this way in other places, but Zibo is the only place in Shandong that cooks it this way.

Tile fish is also available in Shiyan City. Herring is mostly used instead of carp, and the cooking method is also different. Shiyan is accustomed to the cooking methods of "steamed", "braised", and "dry roasted". Steaming the tiles is a test of the chef's skill. If the fried tiles are not steamed properly, they will inevitably taste greasy. But it is easy to braise or dry-cook it, making it spicy and delicious without losing the freshness of the fish.

Except Shiyan, I know that Sichuan may have similar practices. In the 1990s, I ate Sichuan tile fish in an "immigration restaurant" in my hometown. Chop the carp, fry it thoroughly, cook it in a pot of red oil hot pot, and eat it while it's hot. You can also cook some vegetables and eat them like hot pot. But the folks in Sichuan named it "cold pot fish".

The tile fish in Zibo is different from those in these two places. The frying of "tile" is similar, but Zibo people use it to make soup.

Put a piece of lard in the pot, or rapeseed oil can be substituted. Add star anise, bay leaves, dried chili peppers and then add onion, ginger, garlic and other small things to stir-fry until fragrant. Add the clear soup and bring to a boil. Add the tile fish. After three minutes, add balsamic vinegar, salt, etc. The tile fish is already cooked, so it doesn’t need to be cooked for a long time. Boil it thoroughly immediately, then add chives, coriander, and chopped garlic sprouts after taking it out of the pot. It is sour, appetizing, spicy and delicious.

This method is similar to the small fish soup in Huantai, Zibo. It may be the difference between potato shreds and potato slices. They seem to be the same, but two flowers bloom, one on each side. The fish pieces are deep-fried into tile-like shapes, and can be stewed or souped to show off their amazing properties.

The carp used to make tile fish is not easy to be too big. If the carp is too big, the freshness will be lost, and the earthy smell will be particularly strong. When I was young, I read "Water Margin" and it said: "Now we have to deal with dozens of golden carp, which weigh 14 to 15 pounds." ?Carp that grow to 14 to 5 pounds are not tasty. It seems that Shi Naian and Luo Guanzhong are not good at this.

To this day, tile fish is also a home-cooked dish on the tables of Zibo people. Perhaps it's convenience, ease of preparation, deliciousness, and ease of storage that make this dish enduring.

This article is written for people who have never eaten tile fish, not for people in Zibo. Wouldn't it be a joke to talk to the people of Zibo about eating tile fish? Especially in Huantai and Boshan, who are good at cooking, it can be said that Guan Gong is using a big knife in front of him.